Beauty and the Beast

Ok this is really about you and not about baby but most moms are too busy being moms to research beauty products so I have decided to share a bit of wisdom and my favorite products.

The number one secret to low cost, high impact make up is to buy professional make up. It is instantly cheaper than what you can buy at Sephora and higher performing than what you can buy at CVS. NYXCOSMETICS.COM ladies that is where it's at! (Sue me I ended a sentence with at) When your kids are little lots of photographs are being taken. If you want to be in them then what you want is HD makeup. Sephora's brand Make Up For Ever HD is based on NYX's HD line. Here are the top products and the cost difference:

Product              Sephora            NYX
Foundation            $42                   $15
Primer                   $34                   $15
Eye Primer            $22                   $7
Loose Powder       $26                   $25

Yeah, you read that right. Ridiculous, right? Make Up For Ever does make the best Finishing Powder on the market it's $32. NYX makes the best Eye Shadow Base (for high impact colors) it's $7. I only use cream blushes and I prefer NYX's Cream Rouge for $7 but Make Up For Ever's Microfinish blush for $26 is also excellent. Stila also makes a nice cream blush, Convertible Color, but it's $25 and doesn't last as long as the NYX. You need a good stippling brush with cream blush. I recommend the very cheap, $7.50, e.l.f brush.

As for eye shadow, unless you have some serious experience do not mess with Make Up For Ever's eye shadow. The pigment is intense and you'll find yourself looking like a clown. NYX has fabulous eye shadow pallets but they aren't the best high def color. The NYX Loose powder is their best high def eye shadow, but again you have to have the right tools and really know what you are doing. The Roll On Eye Shimmer is kind of hard to use, but the colors are subtle. Don't think you won't need a brush though.

Everyone in the world is convinced that Urban Decay has the best eye make up. They are dead wrong. Too Faced has them beat by a mile. A Too Faced Shadow Collections for $36 is the best makeup investment you'll ever make. They have a collection for every style. Want drama? Try the Smokey Eye, want matte, they have got that two. Personally I use the Romantic and Neutral the most often. I also highly prefer their eye primer to any other. It's $14 of Amazon. Always check Sephora and Ulta prices against Amazon.

Color correction. Again the world is wrong thinking that Smashbox has it going on. The only thing Smashbox really does right is brushes. No you want Benefit Cosmetics Erase Paste for those spots you just can't seem to hide.Sephora sells a great trio of Benefit product's including Stay Don't Stray (a good primer and concealer), a cream shadow/liner (great for eyery day quick eyes), and the Erase Paste. As for those irritating dark under eye circles I like Bobbie Brown Corrector or Creamy Concealer, $23-33. Ulta's Incognito Concealer, $7, is a good dry and cheap concealer.

Eye Liner is a personal choice kind of thing. NYX felt liners for $8-10 are excellent. Another misconception is that the MAC Khol liner is the best eye pencil. Try the Elisabeth Arden in Onyx, $16ish, you won't regret it. NYX makes a wonderful collection of Jumbo Eye Pencils but they will start to smudge after 8 hours for most people that is totally worth the $4.50 they cost. Sephora's Jumbo Liners will last you 12 hours for $12.

The mighty powerful mascara. Sit down this will make your head spin. Keep in mind that I like big bold mascara. If you want simple then stick to the original Maybelline. It's still the same for a reason.

*Rimmel London Scandal Eyes Waterproof Mascara, $7!!!!!!!!, This stuff packs the biggest punch for drug store mascara. You want the orange tube. It will smudge after about 6-8 hours but it is worth it. Definition is hard to get though and it does clump some.

*Maybelline Specials, $7-10, Colossal has the most volume (not as much as Rimmel) and will never smudge, you can sleep in the stuff. Stiletto is long but very thin. The Falsies, ehn its ok.

*Dior, $25, Ok everyone knows this is the most volume you can get, hands down, but for $25 I want my mascara not to smudge. This does. A lot if it is hot.

*Givinchy Phenomenon, $30, has slightly less volume than the Dior but it is a precis application and doesn't run very much.

*Tarte Clay, $19, if used with the primer this gives great volume and definition, doesn't run. All in all a great mascara.

*Clinique High Impact, $16, Less definition then the Tarte and less volume then the Dior but it is a good solid mascara.

*Buxom Lash, $19, If you follow the directions you will get great volume and definition but it is clumpy.

*Cover Girl, $8-12, My mother loves their water proof stuff. I find it boring.

Lips, lips, lips. We all want lipstick that last through a few cups of coffee and doesn't end up on our baby's cheeks when we smother them with kisses. I will not testify any of these to be the best because there are so many on the market these days it is impossible to try them all and not go bankrupt. I have tried several and here are my results:

*Sephora Cream Lip Stain, $12, This is just about the best high pigment you can get. I love Always Red. It will last through 1 cup of coffee if you let it dry for 15-20 mins. It is very dry.

*Revlon ColorStay Overtime, $9, it stays relatively moist but the colors don't pop, it will last through two cups of coffee.

*Revlon ColorStay Ultimate Liquid Lip Color, $11, My sister swears that this last 15 hrs for her. You must let it dry for 20 full min and put on multiple coasts. She loves Top Tomato. It last about 6 hours for me. It is dry and and the color is very matte but with the right color it can be very bold.

*Cover Girl Outlast Lip Stain, $9, The colors are interesting, it is not dry at all, and lasts 2 hrs. Biggest problem is that the tube doesn't look anything like the color. If you are interested tell me what shade you are looking for and I will tell you what to buy.

*Maybelline Super Stay 10 Hour Stain Gloss, $9, I love this stuff, not dry at all! Colors are vivid and numerous. It lasts at best 4 hours, but I just reapply because I love it so much. Fresh Fuchsia and Cool Coral are my favorites.

*Maybelline Super Stay Lipcolor, $10, In my book this is the longest lasting lip stain that doesn't completely dry out your lips. Great bold colors, long lasting, though not the 24 hours it claims. Continuous Coral and Constantly Cabernet are the colors of the season. Lasting Lilac is fun.

*L'Oreal Infallible Lip Color, $11.50, It's almost as good as the Maybelline Super Stay Lipcolor.

*MAC Pro Longwear Lip Color, $23, It last the longest has the best pigments but it is twice as expensive, a little harder to come by, and the gloss runs out long before the color so you have to buy two glosses making it even more expensive. It is drier than the Maybelline and the L'Oreal. It's basically the only high end lip stain.

Never use anything on top of a lip stain unless it comes with it. Ever.

The almighty foundation. Ok, you have to use primer. I love the Lancome La Base but you are looking at $42. NYX makes several, including a shine mattefier, an HD, and their version of the Smashbox gel everyone seems to love so much. They are all $12-15. Here are my go to foundations:

*I use the NYX HD for big events where I need my make up to last forever and I use the Make Up For Ever Microfinish.
 
*As a mom I have stopped using Bare Minerals because it ends up all over Scarlett's clothes. Instead if I want a nice powdered foundation I go with the NYX Stay Matte but Not Flat for $9.50. This is my everyday foundation in the winter.

*If you want a Gel foundation, and they do feel great, you want Per-Fekt, its $48 though.

*Last but not least is of course the tinted moisturizer Laura Mercier Flawless. The kit is $65. For $9 you can get L'Oreal's True Match, it is the best cheap foundation. If you have dry to normal skin it will last all day. Oily skin is another matter. This is my everyday in the summer.

Brushes are not to be bought at Sephora they will gouge you. Real Techniques, NYX, and e.l.f. will do the trick.

Last but not least. Nail polish that costs less then $7 will chip. The only nail stickers I like are the L'Oreal, which are impossible to get, and Sephora Nail Bling, $7.

Well there you have it. Most of us wake up at 6 am with crying babies looking like the beast. This should help you turn to Beauty in about 15-20 mins. I can't wait till all our girls go to high school and I get to teach them the ropes.

Post Script: I now have 2 characters on Hell. Yay me, and thank you Baby and Hunter.